Spring Must Do: Detox Your Wardrobe before hitting the Shops

Spring collections have now landed in the shops and the most coveted pieces are only available in a unique piece per size. There’s no time to waste before shopping for Spring Summer but to avoid buying yet another leather jacket or black top (the 20th in your collection) and still feel that you have nothing to wear a Spring cleaning of your wardrobe is the mandatory preliminary step to cleverly plan your shopping trip and make the most of the money you invest in your new purchases. Here’s how in 4 easy steps.

Step 1: Personal Styling Consultation

95% of my clientele are stylish people. They do not use personal styling sessions to be on trends or fashionable but to be on point. Translating who you are and what you want into your image is probably the most powerful tool you have to achieve your goals in any area of your life be it professional or personal. Did you know that it takes only 7 seconds for us to judge another person when we first meet them? Make this reality an asset by controlling your image. Whilst it might seem a bit laborious at first it would become natural once you have defined your personal style. Defining your personal style is like a branding exercise. After analysing your body shape, tastes and lifestyle we will define the key themes of your personal style before these will be summarised in your personal mood board and will be used to create your new wardrobe.

Step 2: Wardrobe Detox

Beyond its therapeutic benefits, a wardrobe detox will help you remain on top of your wardrobe and ensure you wear 100% of what you own. To detox your wardrobe you need to sort each piece you own based on the following criteria:

Personal style: some pieces might need to be recycled or disposed of if they do not match your current or desired style. This step is better done with your personal stylist

Do you need these items? you might need to recycle some pieces in between seasons or if you’ve changed career or lifestyle (winter coats and ski outfits can be boxed up until the next year and office wear can be recycled if you’re planning a career change or break)

Wardrobe condition: do some items need repair or dry cleaning? Set these items aside from the rest of your wardrobe and send them for repair or cleaning to make sure that they remain in their best condition. It is important to only repair designers items at the tailors and cobblers that are affiliated with their brand especially for shoes and bags. This would ensure that they remain in the best condition possible and keep their secondary market value in case you’d like to recycle them. For example only a few cobblers are approved by Christian Louboutin. If you ever wish to recycle your So Kate or Pigalle stilettos their price will dramatically differ if the red sole is intact or not and buyers will most likely inquire where the sole has been repaired to assess the value of your shoes.

Step 3: Recycle your Unwanted Wardrobe

It is not because you do not need an item of your wardrobe that it has lost its value. There are a few ways to recycle your wardrobe depending on the nature of the items you own and if you would like to generate an income from your unwanted wardrobe. Here are the options available to you

Selling your unwanted wardrobe. Online platforms such as Ebay and Vestiaire Collective offer auction and selling platforms for pre-owned clothes and accessories. Using these platforms may be slightly time-consuming as you need to submit pictures and populate the description of the items you wish to sell online. On the flip side, these websites provide a transparent pricing of the items you would like to sell as you can research their value on the site using keywords. Vestiaire Collective also includes product categories based on their condition including a higher resale price for “never worn items” and an authentication service. If the idea of spending hours on front your computer to list all your items for sale makes you lose the will to live you might want to use my services or a second-hand shop. Super easy to use, second hand shops only require that you drop off your unwanted items and agree a sale price. You can then relax and let them label, display and sell the items for you. Some shops even provide repair (the Handbag Clininc) and authentication (the Designer Exchange and the Handbag Clinic) services.

Offer your unwanted wardrobe to a charity. Most charities use the proceeds collected from the sale of clothes and accessories to raise funds. Others charities use the donated clothes to provide a service to their clients. Suited and Booted for men and Smart Works for women help men and women returning to work by providing them with an office wardrobe. Usually expensive, professional attire is key to pass a job interview. In addition to mentoring and interview coaching, these two charities help their clients in looking the part when they are meeting a potential employer or when they start a new job

3. Wardrobe planning

Now that you’ve decided which clothes and accessories you wish keep this Spring Summer it is time to organise your wardrobe and plan your next shopping trip:

Wardrobe management For a better use of all the pieces you own the best way to manage your wardrobe is by splitting it per categories: workwear, casualwear, loungewear, holiday wardrobe etc… and then organise the clothes within each categories using a colour coding method. This will help you “see” what you have and never feel that you have nothing to wear. The other tip is to use the same hangers for all clothes and use labels to identify the clothes that are on each hanger. This is key to quickly visualise where the 5 white shirts and 10 pairs of trousers you own are hung in your wardrobe. I also recommend using a separate rail for your outfits of the week to help you get ready and inspired every morning!

Plan your exclusive shopping experience with me! That’s probably the best part of the Spring cleaning of your closet as this would help you identify the gaps in your wardrobe. Once you know what you need to buy (eg workear tops, a pair of jeans etc…) you need to select the items to buy based on your personal style and the following tips:

Timeless pieces – white shirts and silk blouses should be replaced every 3 to 6 months (based on how often you wear them). Ditto for camisoles and neutral jumpers.

Investment pieces – these are season staples that will resist the proof of time like a wool coat in winter, a trench coat in Spring, a Stella Mccartney or Pallas suit, a pair of black or nude Louboutin stilettos …The trick with investment pieces is that’s easy to buy something that seems safe at first but do not suit your personal style. As much as I can recommend a Burberry trench coat to most of my clients this is not for me. Be mindful that the investment piece you wish to buy and make sure you’ve planned your next purchase with your stylist.

On trend pieces These are the pieces that are “in” this season and will help keeping your timeless wardrobe on trend. This Spring Summer trendy pieces include midi dresses, primary colour, off the shoulders tops and culottes.